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_Beauty and the Geek___'s Winners Take Home More Than Just the Money__

The CW's Beauty and the Geek has every right to declare Cycle 4 winners Jasmine Moore and Dave Olsen an exemplary model of what its "social experiment" is all about: learning patience and appreciation for the disparate worlds of tanning beds and bikinis, comic books and LARPing (live-action role-playing, that is). Dave, 28, was (he confesses) a "thoughtless, tactless and careless" teammate when first paired with 22-year-old Jasmine. But by midseason, the team set aside their differences to become a cohesive and competitive force by season's end. Viewers — having been given the ability to vote for the winners for the first time in BATG history — rewarded their transformation with $250,000 in prize money. But this down-to-earth pair hasn't let the green (or that kiss in Mexico?!) go to their heads, as evidenced in their chat with TVGuide.com.

TVGuide.com: Congratulations! Are you surprised that you ended up winning the whole thing?Jasmine Moore: Yes! I think when Dave and I first moved into the mansion, we didn't expect to get as far as we did, let alone to win the whole show.Dave Olsen: I don't know, I actually had a quiet confidence. I don't want to sound cocky — there's a fine line between confidence and cockiness — but there was just a feeling I had back when I first auditioned.

TVGuide.com: Were you glad that America got to vote instead of having an elimination quiz?Jasmine: I'm glad because I know if I was in the elimination room, I was goin' down! I'm really bad at getting asked a question and trying to remember what I studied. So I was kind of relieved that other people were going to vote because that kind of took the pressure off me a little bit.Dave: I'm glad they used America's votes — obviously it worked out for us! But I mean using quizzes — why is trivia the best way to determine who's changed the most? An outside observer is a much better measuring system.

TVGuide.com: But Dave, you said on the show that you were apprehensive about what America would think about you.Dave: That's true. I've had a poor track record of winning popularity contests, so that's where that consternation came from. But ultimately I think it is a good way of measurement. Actually, I think the people who should be voting are the producers, because they see us every single minute, but I think a lot of people might be turned off by that [idea].

TVGuide.com: So why do you think that the viewers voted for you two over Sam and Nicole?Jasmine: I think Dave's transformation was so obvious and huge compared to everyone else's, it kind of blew everyone away.Dave: Ironically, if I wasn't so mean to Jasmine at first, I'm not sure if we could've gotten this far [in the contest]. Sam and Nicole started off very strong and we were completely dysfunctional. So going from one of the weakest teams and not winning anything to winning the wine challenge together, I think the overall change in how we worked together as a team was very obvious.

TVGuide.com: When you got the warning from Joshua and Shay and you began to work together better, what was it that changed between you?Dave: I started to appreciate Jasmine's better qualities. At first I seemed to be completely focused on the negative, like, "How could you possibly not know what that means?" I didn't think about all the positive things she could bring to the team, like her sense of humor and her creativity. When I changed focus, that was really the key change.

TVGuide.com: And Jasmine, did you become more self-sufficient as well?Jasmine: I think I did. As people were leaving, I had to rely more on myself and Dave. Now, for sure, I'm more independent, and with the money I don't have to rely on my mom and other people.

TVGuide.com: So what are you two doing with the money?Jasmine: I was living in my mom's basement in her apartment. So I'm in contract to buy her her first condo. Dave: I'm going to donate some money to a couple of groups that are near and dear to my heart and then invest the rest in a mutual fund.

TVGuide.com: Of these near-and-dear groups, are any of them LARPing-related? Dave: In fact, one is. One is Quest, because I’m chairman of the board and events coordinator for Quest Interactive Productions and it costs a lot of money to run events. If I can alleviate the financial burdens of the organization with this win, that would be great.

TVGuide.com: What was your favorite moment of the whole experience?Dave: There are so many favorite moments. Winning the wine challenge is definitely one of the top things — not only of the show, but actually of my life. It's strange, I actually was happier winning the wine challenge than winning the money! Jasmine: With the challenges, if you win them or even come close, it means something inside, so it's different than winning the money. It's kind of like, Oh, my gosh, I did not know I could do that, I'm so proud of myself — that kind of thing. So my favorite was Comic-Con — I absolutely loved that one!

TVGuide.com: The superhero challenge, when you were Princess Bedhead?Jasmine: Dave and I put so much thought into everything about that challenge. It was the first time that we really came together. Dave: I loved the beauty aspect of the challenge; I pretty much hated the geek aspect of it!

TVGuide.com: Do you think that was the hardest challenge?Dave: For me, absolutely. The sewing destroyed me. Jasmine: I think the first one [was hardest], the debate. It's just really scary when everyone's staring at you waiting for you to talk. And that was the first; I was like, I'm not going to make it far.

TVGuide.com: Dave, you won both the salsa-dancing and flair-bartending challenges. Have you done either of those things since? Dave: No... see, despite winning the bartending challenge, you have to keep in mind my competition. I'm not sure if anyone's about to let me behind a bar to start juggling bottles. I think there'd be a lot of shattered glass everywhere! And I have not been salsa dancing since, but I've just been very busy. It is something I'd like to try to do again.

TVGuide.com: Jasmine, do you think you'll do any LARPing?Jasmine: I definitely plan to LARP with Dave again. I just love his friends and next time I want to be a princess, that's for sure.

TVGuide.com: Tell me about that kiss in Mexico, what brought that on?Dave: Yeah, I'd like to hear this, because it really came out of nowhere from my perspective!Jasmine: [Laughs] I know it kind of came out of nowhere, but... I mean, he'd just done a backflip, it was Mexico, sexy beach... a lot of tequila, I don't know! Dave: Yeah, I was thinking tequila might have had something to do with it. Jasmine: I wanted to show Dave some love! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Dave, are you still wearing the calculator watch? Dave: I am. [Chuckles] It's become a part of me. I think the only way to remove it would be to chop off my left hand. Actually, someone recognized me off the street once because of the calculator watch.

TVGuide.com: But you're not wearing the duct tape anymore, are you?Dave: No, no!

TVGuide.com: What about the chest waxing — are you going to do that ever again?Dave: Uh... well, maybe if it's for national TV! But I don't really take my shirt off much, so if no one's there to appreciate the chest wax, I don't see going through the pain....

TVGuide.com: What happened with Nicole? Are you guys going to get together in Boston?Dave: Yeah, Nicole and I will assuredly get together — probably in a platonic capacity, rather than a romantic one. But I'm looking forward to hanging out with her. I have this plan that if the two of us just hang out in a coffee shop or something, maybe people would recognize us together and then we could ask for people's phone numbers, so that way we can both get dates.

TVGuide.com: Did the show change your future aspirations?Jasmine: Well, I've been telling everyone since I was little that I'm going to be on TV one day: I'm going to be famous, you watch. But then I was thinking this is not going to happen, and then I got found at a bar and was thinking my dreams are coming true. So I'm definitely going to pursue real estate... but if something were to happen because of this, I'd probably go with it!Dave: I don't think I'm about to move to Los Angeles anytime soon, but I have to say, it was tremendous fun being in front of the camera. There's an energy with the set and the crew and so forth. But I'm not sure if my aspirations have changed that much. I'm not sure I had aspirations to begin with. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: What are you doing right now, Dave?Dave: I'm an administrative assistant for the Cambridge Fire Department, which pays the bills and gives me lots of free time to focus on my hobbies.

TVGuide.com: Jasmine, are you still a nanny? Jasmine: I am. I actually have to go pick the kids up from school at 3 o'clock. I babysit Monday through Friday, and others call me on the weekends.

TVGuide.com: Did they watch the show? Jasmine: Oh, yeah, they loved it. All the kids I babysit for called me last night and were so excited.

TVGuide.com: I'm sure they voted for you.Jasmine: Of course! Andy, he's 10, he said, "I went on the computer and I voted for you 10 times! And I tried to put a different name in [to vote again] and they wouldn't let me do it!" I was like, aww, that's so cute, thank you!

TVGuide.com: Yeah, he tried to cheat for you!Jasmine: Yeah, I owe them all a huge thank you.